According to a news release on a survey by Japan’s
Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the number of
individual participants in the pension schemes increased by
some 500,000 to slightly below 1.8 million as of the end of
January.
The outstanding net asset balance of investment trusts sold
exclusively for the plans doubled to 800 billion yen as of
the end of March.

The 401(k)-type plans were first authorized in Japan
in 2001 and were originally adopted by large companies such
as Toyota Motor Corp. and Hitachi Ltd., according to the
new report.
More and more small and mid-sized companies have adopted
the plans in recent years.

The aggregate net asset value of all financial
instruments purchased by 401(k) plan subscribers is
estimated at just over 2 trillion yen, about 30% of which
has apparently been placed in investment trusts.
The number of investment trusts offered for the schemes
increased by 28 to 329 in the year ended March 31.

Deregulatory measures taken by the government in
October 2004, including hikes in the maximum allowable
nontaxable contributions by employers, may be the reason
for the steep increase in sales of funds for 401(k)-type
pension plans, analysts say.